


The Difference Your Absence Made

by KaiKnight



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Implied sexy times, Modern AU, Possible spoilers for season 3, cussing will happen eventually I think, in like a really round about way, will add characters and pairings as they are introduced
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-24
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-14 12:29:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2191905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaiKnight/pseuds/KaiKnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Korra and Asami are both busy young women of 22 and 24. Prominent in their chosen fields and on the stage of world influence. Asami has built Future Industries from the ground up after the arrest of her father three years ago and the subsequent exposure of his treason against state and the current world order. Korra has been working on her bending, competing on the Pro-Bending circuit, attempting to gain a degree in Political Science from Republic City's most prestigious University alongside her obligations as the current Avatar. </p><p>The two of them have been more or less apart for almost six months due to their varying commitments, but their two year relationship is still going strong. This is the story of how they spent their first weekend together in a while. It marks the start of a new chapter in their relationship, one that will hopefully bring them closer together as both best friends and lovers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Butterfly Kisses and a Whirlwind Exit - AKA The Morning After

**Author's Note:**

> ....first Korrasami fanfic. It hit me while I was at work tonight. I have plans to make this at least two or three chapters long, but right now I'm also working on my Yumi Kuri AU and my dissertation. :A: I worry that I characterise the two couples in very similar ways. I wish I had more time to work on my fiction writing. Basically this story takes place in an AU where all the junk with Harmonic Convergence and The Red Lotus happened, but with a modern twist and Korra has recovered nicely from both ordeals despite being busy as f**k.

It’s the warmth of another body next to her own that makes Korra reluctant to move out from under the covers when her alarm went off. It has been far too long since she had enjoyed this particular sensation, but that didn’t change the fact it was sunrise and she had made a hasty promise the night before. Chief Bei Fong was probably already waiting for her at the training grounds – they had spoken of working on a few of Korra’s rusty metal bending forms the afternoon before and now the Avatar was regretting it. Groaning and popping stiff joints, the young Avatar rolled out of bed feeling like she was the collective age of her past lives and then some. Locating her tank top and her boxer briefs she tugged them on before making an effort to silent shuffle away from the bed towards the bathroom.

“Korra?” Asami’s voice was husky with sleep as she propped herself up on one elbow, clutching the bed sheet to her chest with her free hand. Korra halted in her now failed mission of silence and turned to look at Asami. Her long dark, usually flawless hair was in disarray – drawing attention to just how pale and delicate looking her fair, wonderfully soft skin was. Korra swallowed dryly, feeling her face flush, as if she didn’t have the privilege to wake up to this breath taking beauty every morning they managed to miraculously be in the same city at the same time. Of late they had both been busy, to the point where they had only managed to see each other in passing for coffee or a quick lunch for six months. Korra had been travelling with the Fire-Ferrets on the Pro-Bending Circuit, attending college for Political Science as well as dealing with her Avatar duties. Asami had been slowly rebuilding Future Industries after the arrest of her father three years ago for supplying arms to rebel terrorist faction’s intent on eliminating both Korra and the established world order.

Shuffling around to Asami’s side of the bed quickly, Korra sat down and leant over to press a shy, feather light kiss to the other woman’s near perfect forehead. “Sorry – did I wake you sleeping beauty?” Korra’s voice was also husky with sleep, and perhaps something else. She squeaked as Asami’s arms shout out and wrapped around her muscular torso, pulling her close enough to almost taste the lingering perfume on the engineer’s skin. Colour once again rose to Korra’s cheeks as Asami carefully pressed a kiss into her neck before replying.

“Your shoulder sounds like a gun going off when you pop it. It gave me a bit of a fright.” She was lying of course, when Korra had rolled out of bed the absence of her warmth had roused the young engineer from a delicious slumber and equally fragrant dreams.  She sighed into Korra’s neck as she felt the Avatar stiffen in her embrace and begin to mutter an apology. “Oh hush…I know you can’t help it.” Korra relaxed again and rested her chin on top of Asami’s head, enjoying the soft scent of the Jasmine shampoo that lingered there from the night before. They had finally had a chance to unwind together after Korra had been through the rigour of attending a press conference interrogating her about the current state of the Spirit World encroaching on Republic City territory, nearly three years on from Harmonic Convergence things were still a little unbalanced on that front, but for the most part the Air Nation Nomads had the bigger outbreaks and discord under control. Bathing together was probably the most relaxing thing the both of them had managed in months.  

They stayed gently embracing each other on the bed for several minutes until Asami’s sheet slipped from between them and the metallic click and chime of the clock on the wall jolted Korra out of her happy reprieve. She swore and then for the third time that morning felt her cheeks flame as she pulled away, catching a glance of Asami’s half naked beauty. Out of the corner of her eye, the young Avatar saw evidence of her handiwork from the heated evening the two of them had spent together dotted in the form of purpling splotches and bite marks across the fair skin of Asami’s chest and shoulders. The pale girl herself snickered at Korra’s bashfulness, the shyness Korra had in regards to their intimacy was in stark contrast to the public face they presented their relationship.  She found this juxtaposition rather adorable. She found a lot of things rather adorable about Korra actually, and delighted in embarrassing her by pointing out the things she liked about the other woman. Stuttering Korra stood and made a backwards bee-line for the bathroom, her blue eyes locked with green so as to avoid looking at the rest of her body directly and sparking memories of the passion they had shared together before passing out the night before.

“I-I-I promised Lin I’d meet her down on the training grounds at eight. I’m sorry ‘sami, I’ll be back in time to shower and change for our lunch date, I promise!” The Avatar was almost literally a whirlwind as she dressed properly, washed her face, brushed her teeth and snatched a banana from the fruit bowl on her way out the door. The slam that announced Korra’s departure echoed in the hallway outside the small, comfortable, classy apartment the two of them shared. Asami sighed as the absence of her partner filled the apartment with a silence she had grown to loath. Out on the street she heard the rattle and eventual rumble of Korra’s motorbike as it pulled out into traffic and roared off down to the Republic City Headquarters.  Glancing at the clock on the wall, she noted it was not quite seven thirty, and she consequently decided that she could afford to doze for another hour and a half before rising. It was her first day off in over two months after all. It would take her less than an hour to ready herself for their date later on in the day and she had resolved to ignore all but the most urgent of reports from the company until the weekend was over. 


	2. Brushing Up and Dressing Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘Late’ was something Lin Bei Fong had come to associate with the young Avatar. Long before the added pressure of University had been added to the Avatar duties, Pro-Bending training and long before starting a serious relationship with Asami, Korra – no matter how well intentioned – was always at least twenty minutes late to anything that didn’t require her urgent attention. It was with this long suffering habit of the young Avatar’s in mind that Lin made her way down to the police training ground a full fifteen minutes later than their agreed meeting time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....this is basically a filler chapter. I'm really seeing this turn into a sappy domestic future AU, but I have vague notions of some serious ish going down in the next chapter...I might even write something NSFW rather than leaving things up to ambiguity/interpretation if I can be bothered? Who knows where this will go...it's becoming self aware.

‘Late’ was something Lin Bei Fong had come to associate with the young Avatar. Long before the added pressure of University had been added to the Avatar duties, Pro-Bending training and long before starting a serious relationship with Asami, Korra – no matter how well intentioned – was always at least twenty minutes late to anything that didn’t require her urgent attention. It was a small miracle she’d actually made it through the first three years of University – Lin wondered absently how the temporally challenged twenty-two year old had pulled it off.

It was with this long suffering habit of the young Avatar’s in mind that Lin made her way down to the police training ground a full fifteen minutes later than their agreed meeting time. Needless to say she was more than just a little bit shocked to see Korra already resent and working through her warm up stretches and basics. Eyebrow cocked in disbelief, the elderly Chief of Police made her presence known with a healthy dose of sarcasm – something she’d picked up from her mother.

“I must be still asleep – the Avatar is early.” Perhaps balancing all of her commitments had finally instilled the missing sense of temporality that the younger woman had been lacking in her earlier years. With a thin smile Lin noted that despite their best efforts to train the young Avatar in all aspects of bending, culture and spiritual awareness – keeping time had been something that all of her combined elders had failed to do.

“On time actually. Traffic wasn’t as bad as usual.” This of course was accompanied by a cheeky smile and the unspoken suggestion that Korra had managed to dodge through the early morning crawl on her motor bike going slightly faster than she should have been without a. crashing, and b. being caught by police or air nomads trying to maintain order. The shit eating grin on Korra’s face was enough to set an ache in Lin’s temple, the comment following was enough to remind Lin that she wasn’t a morning person and that she why she didn’t make a habit out of teaching uppity young people. “You’re late though Chief, not on time. Your age finally catching up on you? Going a wee bit senile?”

Lin’s only reply was to subtly shift the earth beneath Korra’s feet, deepening the stance she had been standing in for this exchange. To her credit, Korra managed to hold it for at least thirty seconds after letting out an indignant “HEY!”

“One more crack about my age and I’m going back to sifting through the mountain of paper work you and this city have coughed up this week.” Lin’s mouth was set in a grim line as she moved over to where Korra was now sitting on the ground, her legs splayed in a very wide v shape, torso tilted forward, back straight. Setting her hands on the small of Korra’s back with firm but careful pressure, Lin once again urged the young Avatar to deepen her stretch till it burned. They continued to work through various stretches and basic drills together for fifteen more minutes before taking a slow jog around the training ground.  

Lin was mindful to keep an eye on how the young Avatar was holding up, the girl had gone through more than the average person or police officer would ever go through in a lifetime in the short span of twenty two years. The most physically damaging being an incident where the Red Lotus terror cell had managed to absorb a liquid metal poison through Korra’s skin in an attempt to kill her in the Avatar state and break the cycle of reincarnation. Korra still bore the scars in the form of mottle patches of skin where the poison had entered her body on her forearms as well as slightly slurred speech and the occasional fit of unsteadiness and trembles if she pushed her body too hard or didn’t sleep well.

As Korra showed no sign of strain after their initial warm-up, she brought Korra to the area where all the metal bending equipment was stored. Coils of wire and ingots of several types of metal were stacked neatly alongside a number of intense looking weights designed specifically for being bended.

“Let me see your basics with the iron ingots and wire, and we can go from there. Let’s see how much you’ve forgotten since the last time you trained with me.” The older woman commanded and Korra groaned but complied. Adopting the manner of a drill sergeant, Lin ordered Korra through all the basics with both materials and then a lighter set of weights until she broke out into a sweat. From there on, she really put the young Avatar to work – spending an hour adjusting and sharpening the Avatar’s movements until she was satisfied the younger woman was completing the exercises as precisely as she possibly could. She allowed a ten minute break for Korra and herself to hydrate and stretch out any body parts that had been cramping or felt too tight before launching into the more advanced techniques. It was a little before eleven thirty when Lin finished helping Korra warm down. They had organised another training session for the next Thursday to go over some of the finer points Lin thought Korra could work on.

“You did good kid.” Compliments were rare from the older woman, and Korra couldn’t help the wave of pride tinged with relief that rippled through her as Lin turned away with a wave. By the time the older woman was back in her office, the roar of Korra’s bike was already fading into the sounds of the busy city.

\----

Asami heard Korra’s bike around noon, and shortly after the door that had been abused on the Avatar's earlier exit that morning was slammed loudly behind her once again. “Asami, I’m home!” Korra called stomping around the lounge and tossing her work out bag onto the couch. Asami smiled, the apartment was definitely home with Korra in it. Even though she enjoyed the quite of the apartment when the other wasn’t around, she had missed the lively way that Korra moved and the soft thuds and such that let her know that she was up and about and most importantly healthy. The months and year of Korra’s recovery had her swear to never take those sounds and mannerisms for granted ever again. L

Asami was still in bed, having curled up with a book after grabbing a bite for breakfast, when Korra finally came back into the bedroom, glass of water in hand. Her hair was pulled back in her customary wolf tail, and her shirt was sticking to her in a combination of the ride home and the work out she had just been subjected too. This was not an unusual sight or unappealing sight – in fact Asami let herself drag her eyes up and down Korra’s toned body, enjoying the lines and curves the clothes she wore hinted at as well as the marks she knew the high cut singlet hid, but the odour that accompanied Korra after a bending work out was one of the things that Asami would never get used to. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, it could be described as sharp and earthy, but it still made the older girls nose wrinkle. Korra caught the motion and rolled her eyes.

“I know I know…shower for me. I’m on it.” Taking her glass with her into the bathroom, she left the door slightly ajar as she turned the shower on. “So, what’s the dress code for the place we’re going to again? Do you think you could pick something out for me ‘sami?”Korra’s head had popped around the door, her body shielded and her big blue puppy dog eyes locking with full force with Asami’s seductive greens. The Avatar swallowed as she felt a wave of pure sensuality almost literally roll off of the other woman. Retreating into the shower, the water hit her with a force that momentarily absolved any aches lingering from the morning workout, though the evidence of the work out she’d gotten the night before stung a little under the heat.

Asami set her book down on the bedside table and moved to their shared closet. There was a pretty blouse she had brought the other day with the Avatar in mind, and a nice pair of black waist high jeans coupled with plain black Vans and a nice brown belt would do the trick. Setting the chosen items out on the bed, she grabbed herself a nice sun dress and set it alongside Korra’s outfit. That done she tossed aside her night robe and surprised her lover in the shower.

“And what? We’re saving water.” Was her reply to the spluttered half protests of the flustered Avatar.


End file.
